Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1887-02-25
JOHN P. NEWMAN.
eAMERICA FOR AMERICANS.

81 have set thee on hg h above all the nations of
the eaIth."-Duet. xviii, l.
By the voice Of magisterial au thority
this secular day has been hushed into
the sacred quiet of a national Sabbath.
From savannahs and prairies, from val
leys and mountains, from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, more than fifty millions
of freemen have been invited to gather
around the alters of the God of our
fathers, and pour forth the libation Of
their gratitude to Him who is the Civ
or of every good and perfect gift. If
in all the past, nations have made pub
lie recognition Of the divinities which
have presided over their destiny, ac-
cording to their faith and practice. it
is but reasonable and highly appropri-
ate that we, asa Christian people, en-
lightened as no other people, favored
as no other nation, should once i'll
the twelve months consecrate day to
therecognition Of Him whose throne
is on the circle of the heavens, who is
the benefactor Of the husbandman. the
genius of the artisan, the inspiration of
the merchant, and from whom comes
all those personal, domestic, social, and
national benedictions which render us
happy people and this day memorable
in the annals of time.
If the year that ends to-day has been
marked with severity it has also been
distinguished by goodness. Ifchastise-
ments have come to us as individuals,
families, communities, and as nation;
if the earthquake, and the tornado, and
the confagration, have combined to
teach us our dependence on the SUI
preme Being-all these should be os-
teemed as ministers Of the Highest to
teach us that we are pensioners upon
the infinite bounty of the Almighty;
that in our prosperity we should re-
member His mercies; in our adversely
we should deplore our transgressions
1t is evident to the most casual Oh
server that the past year has been sig
nifcant in the manifestations of divine
! guidance and goodness. To-day peace
reigns throughout our vast domain.
No foreign foe invades our shores.
How superior our condition by way Of
contrast with our neighbors on this
side of the globe. In contrast with
Central and South America, the home
of turbulence and misrule, where ignor
ance, combined with perverted Chris.
tianity, has darkened and enslaved;
where the wheels of industry have been
impeded and the march to a higher
civilization obstructed-how bold the
contrast between these two sections of
our continent contrast that must be
suggestive to every thoughtful mind
and awaken the question whether this
| is due to what some call the fortuities
of national life or whether it is the re
suit Of genius Of government that il
sublime and religion that is divine
| And if we turn our eyes over the greai
deep to the most favored nations be
| yond the Atlantic, the contrast inspires
grateful emotions, and we are equally
led to contemplate the causes which
have brought about condition so fav
orable to us. The most venerable ma
tions in Europe, countries that have
lived through millennium, are to-day
shaken by internal disturbance Those
institutions which have come dowr
from the hoary past, which have beer
considered pre-eminent in the affections
and faith Of mankind, now topple ts
their fall. UNEASY lies the head thai
wears crown" whether man or WON
an; and no government in Europe is in
state of peaceful security. Alarm
dwells in the palace. Fear, like 8
bloody phantom, haunts the throne
and the vast nations of Europe, will
all their agriculture and commerce ant
manufacture, and all their majesty ol
law and ordinances of religion, ar,
maintained in questionable peace b.
not less than three millions Of mel
armed to the teeth; while in this coun
try, so vast in its domain, so complica
ted in its population, from North t,
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